India, Pakistan agree to resume dialogue: Report
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
New Delhi, April 30, IRNA -- India and Pakistan have agreed to resume dialogue at the level of Foreign Ministers soon as Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Yousuf Raza Gilani met in Thimphu on Thursday in their first substantive engagement in less than a year.
During their meeting on the sideline of the 16th SAARC meeting, Singh and Gilani decided that the channels of dialogue between the two countries should be kept open to restore "trust and confidence" in the bilateral relationship.
Terrorism and the "slow progress" of Pakistan's probe into Mumbai attacks formed part of the agenda of the discussions which were held at the 'Bhutan House' in Thimphu, capital of Bhutan, on the margins of the SAARC Summit, said Nirupama Rao at a briefing.
"The Prime Ministers held very good talks in a free and frank manner. They agreed that cooperation between the two countries is vital for the people of South Asia to realise their destiny," said Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao briefing the media about the Hour-long meeting between the two leaders.
"Prime Minister expressed India's concern over the slow progress of Mumbai trial in Pakistan to Prime Minister Gilani," Rao said.
Singh told Gilani that India was willing to discuss all issues of mutual concern through dialogue but the issue of terrorism is holding back the progress, she said.
The Foreign Secretary also said it was decided by the two Prime Ministers that Foreign Ministers and foreign secretaries of the two countries should meet as soon as possible to "restore trust and confidence" in the relations, said Rao.
Asked whether the Foreign Ministers-level talks amounted to resumption of the Composite Dialogue process between the two countries, Rao said she does not want to get into details about the nomenclature of the talks.
When asked whether Indo-Pak talks have overshadowed SAARC, she replied that bilateral meetings always take place on the sidelines of the Summit and SAARC has its own importance as a regional grouping to be overshadowed by such events.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told a news conference that the meeting between the two leaders ended on a positive note and he would be engaging with his Indian counterpart S M Krishna at an appropriate time.
He also welcomed Home Minister P Chidambaram to Islamabad on 26th June for the SAARC Home Minister's conference. Qureshi said the meeting has "changed the climate" between the two countries.
This was their first meeting after their dialogue in Sharm-el-Sheik in Egypt on 16th July 2009 following which a major controversy had broken out in India on the contents of the joint statement.
India had suspended the Composite Dialogue process after the Mumbai attacks and linked its resumption to action against terror.
While the Indian delegation consisted of External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna, National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon and Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, the Pakistani delegation included Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir and others.
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End News / IRNA / News Code 1086510
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